# Scots: The New Dewar's Ad featuring an Englishwoman doing a Scots accent - okay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727 "2012-12-11T19:04:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/81 "2012-12-14T04:40:36Z")
> [@For You](#): > > There is a cringe-worthy moment in a movie called _A Life Less Ordinary_ in which Cameron Diaz explains to a neighbor at the door that her “boyfriend” (Ewan MacGregor) is “… from Scotland. That’s in England.” I believe the cringe is intentional in that scene. S lot of Americans salvaging like that. I remember in my elementary school there was a huge wall display with information about France, Spain, and Britain, only all instances where “Britain” would have been correct said “England” instead. So the map highlighting all of Great Britain was labeled “England.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/82 "2012-12-14T06:35:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I believe the cringe is intentional in that scene. S lot of Americans salvaging like that. I remember in my elementary school there was a huge wall display with information about France, Spain, and Britain, only all instances where “Britain” would have been correct said “England” instead. So the map highlighting all of Great Britain was labeled “England.” If you mean like 40 years ago, that lines up pretty well with my experience. May have improved since then, but I have my doubts. Most Americans could not read a map to find their way out of a paper bag. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/83 "2012-12-14T07:37:53Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I realize that; what I was wondering was if it would be possible to abolish the Scottish monarchy _independently_ of the UK’s. No, the current Scottish Parliament doesn’t have the power. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/84 "2012-12-14T10:44:13Z")
Might I say that Claire Forlani never looked worse than that ad? Her wearing that outfit reminded me of Russell Crowe wearing that fur thing in _Gladiator_. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/85 "2012-12-14T10:52:58Z")
> [@For You](#): > > There is a cringe-worthy moment in a movie called _A Life Less Ordinary_ in which Cameron Diaz explains to a neighbor at the door that her “boyfriend” (Ewan MacGregor) is “… from Scotland. That’s in England.” Someone asked me earlier in the week, in all seriousness, why I refer to myself as British. I informed her that it is because that is what it says on my passport. I’ve had explain on many a occasion as well that I am not a “British Subject”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/86 "2012-12-14T13:55:59Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Someone asked me earlier in the week, in all seriousness, why I refer to myself as British. > > I informed her that it is because that is what it says on my passport. But you realize that’s not a full answer, right? The expectation is that British citizens identify as English, Scottish, or Welsh. If you don’t, then simply referring to your passport doesn’t explain the situation. I would suspect that those who identify as British are likely to be from Northern Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/87 "2012-12-14T14:37:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I believe the cringe is intentional in that scene. S lot of Americans salvaging like that. I think you’re right - the full line is “We were married in castle in Scotland… It’s in England… You know…_Paris_.” IIRC the animated end titles also play on this. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/88 "2012-12-14T14:50:52Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > I’ve had explain on many a occasion as well that I am not a “British Subject”. But there are British subjects. Up until 1949, that was pretty much everybody born within the areas of British dominion or allegiance was a British subject. In 1949, all those people who were British subjects because of heir birth within the Uk or the Crown colonies became a citizen of the United Kingdom (or of the Crown colonies) but also retained the status of British subject, which they continued to share with the Commonwealth countries’ citizens. The term “British subject” didn’t get eliminated until 1982, and even then it’s not completely dead: a person born in Ireland before 1949 is still a British subject. In fact, you could be simultaneously a British citizen and a British subject if you were born in Dublin in 1948 and were subsequently naturalized a British citizen. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/89 "2012-12-14T15:33:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > But you realize that’s not a full answer, right? The expectation is that British citizens identify as English, Scottish, or Welsh. If you don’t, then simply referring to your passport doesn’t explain the situation. I would suspect that those who identify as British are likely to be from Northern Ireland. Nope, people describe themselves however they like, and I, for one, describe myself as both British and English, depending on circumstance. I regard English as my ethnicity and British as my nationality, and it’s fine to be proud of both. My welsh partner describes it thus: ‘I am proud to be British and privileged to be Welsh’. Of course there’s also plenty of people who don’t use or like British. Presumably they will be the ones voting for Scottish independence. On the flip side, I have also heard some people from minority immigrant groups say they prefer ‘British’ as they don’t identify with being ‘English’, which they see as an ethnic group they don’t belong to. Then some people prefer ‘British’ because they have mixed English/Scottish/Welsh/N Irish heritage. And some people just prefer it, as a uniting moniker. I would assume **amanset** falls into this camp. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/90 "2012-12-14T15:49:10Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > The term “British subject” didn’t get eliminated until 1982, and even then it’s not completely dead: a person born in Ireland before 1949 is still a British subject. Only if you made a claim for that status. [The relevant bit of law](http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/othernationality/britishsubjects/): > [@](#): > > You became a British subject on 1 January 1983 if, up to that date, you were: > > a British subject without citizenship, which means you were a British subject on 31 December 1948 who did not become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, a citizen of a Commonwealth country, a citizen of Pakistan, or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; > a person who had been a citizen of Eire and a British subject on 31 December 1948 and had made a claim to remain a British subject; or > a woman who had registered as a British subject on the basis of your marriage to a man who was in one of the two categories above. Which still doesn’t refute **amanset** ’s point that he (she?) isn’t a British Subject. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/91 "2012-12-14T15:49:25Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I would assume **amanset** falls into this camp. But when someone asks “why,” that implies they don’t have all this information. Saying “that’s what it says on my passport” is basically refusing to answer the question. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/92 "2012-12-14T15:56:58Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > But when someone asks “why,” that implies they don’t have all this information. Saying “that’s what it says on my passport” is basically refusing to answer the question. Presumably it’s because he _is_ British and is annoyed at the expectation that he _should_ identify as English or whatever. What else should he say? ‘It’s on my passport’ is just the same as saying ‘it’s my nationality’. You wouldn’t put the same question to someone who described themselves as Scottish. I would find the question annoying too, as it implies my nationality doesn’t mean something. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/93 "2012-12-14T16:09:28Z")
Right, I have only now watched the ad. Considering it’s an ad purely for the US market, it doesn’t seem that odd a choice at all. As someone who has worked in advertising, I can imagine the conversation thus: "We need someone really smoking hot for this part. What about that woman from CSI? Claire Forlani, _she’s_ British’ “English, she’s not Scottish.” “What’s the difference? Anyway, she’s an actress, she can fake it, and she’s married to a Scot so she’ll know how to do it. Anyway, our target audience wouldn’t know the difference.” ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/94 "2012-12-14T23:00:24Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > This is going to confuse things - even if Scots don’t like being called “Brits”, they are actually British. What was being objected to earlier was “Brits” being used **synonymously** with English in a sentence which also mentioned Scots. Yes, I know, but they used to hate anyone calling them British, because to foreigners British and English are the same thing and the Scots do hate them Englishers. ~(‘.’)~ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/95 "2012-12-15T03:21:02Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Which still doesn’t refute **amanset** ’s point that he (she?) isn’t a British Subject. Given the discussion, I took his/her point to be not that he isn’t, but that there was no such thing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/96 "2012-12-15T10:10:29Z")
> [@Corcaigh](#): > > Yes, I know, but they used to hate anyone calling them British, because to foreigners British and English are the same thing and the Scots do hate them Englishers. > > ~(‘.’)~ Or was it because they’re trying to blame all the crimes of the **British** empire on the English? I’d appreciate it if you don’t make blanket generalisations like “the Scots do hate them Englishers”. It makes us look like a load of racist pricks. if you’re as Irish as your name suggests you’ll know that the reality is much more nuanced (and hopefully less racist). ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/97 "2012-12-15T14:34:43Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Right, I have only now watched the ad. > > Considering it’s an ad purely for the US market, it doesn’t seem that odd a choice at all. As someone who has worked in advertising, I can imagine the conversation thus: > > "We need someone really smoking hot for this part. What about that woman from CSI? Claire Forlani, _she’s_ British’ > “English, she’s not Scottish.” > “What’s the difference? Anyway, she’s an actress, she can fake it, and she’s married to a Scot so she’ll know how to do it. Anyway, our target audience wouldn’t know the difference.” Yep; all that makes sense from a marketing perspective - still seems a bit off to market a heavily Scottish vibe with a non-Scot, but yeah, it’s only for us Americans ;). And yeah, my OP was NOT looking to stir up tensions. It’s just a silly commercial with a hot non-Scot. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/98 "2012-12-15T14:50:54Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Myers) > Do you know something I don’t? Close enough. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/99 "2012-12-15T15:05:13Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Claire Forlani’s father is of Italian descent, but she was born in England. Just like Scottish racecar driver\*\* Dario Franchitti \*\*has an Italian name but a strong Scots burr,er, accent 😉 I was once reading a book about famous Scots and I was surprised to see Guglielmo Marconi included. Marconi was of partly Scottish ancestry but I thinks it’s quite a stretch to call him a Scot. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727/100 "2012-12-15T15:20:33Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Aye, I think there is a Stuart pretender out there somewhere, some French bloke. The possibility of an actual restoration is almost zero though. Honestly, the whole monarchy thing is not a pressing matter for most. He’s German. The Stuart claimant Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern, His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria. He’s theoretically the King of Bavaria, England, France, Ireland, and Scotland. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scots-the-new-dewars-ad-featuring-an-englishwoman-doing-a-scots-accent-okay/643727.md?page=6)